Training Talk Thread

[SUGEE76]

Very excited to be able to add to this thread finally...

I recently started obedience at Sutherland and and am very proud to announce that my pride and joy (after only 4 weeks) has passed Level 1 obedience and will start level 2 next week.

He picks up things so quickly and gets so excited when it comes to 'school' and works hard and comes home a very snoozy boy...

Does anyone here find that their dogs learn and perform readily but you get very nervous when being watched and sometimes make errors with the instructions and struggle when put on the spot?

I am hoping with time that I will get more confident?

He is already dropping and doing really long sit stays - which is something that we are working on at the moment.

I was approached to start clicker training and am thinking this might be a great way to make things more interesting for the boy?

Edited June 7, 2010 by SUGEE76

[flyingduster]

hmm, I'm thinking I should have posted my link in this thread instead, but for some reason never spotted it before! lol!

I'm across the tasman in NZ doing both obedience and rally, with a touch of agility on the side. This is my first competition dog, and I didn't get her as a pup (though have had contact & influence in her life since she was a year old, we didn't start training till she was just over 18 months and she didn't live with me until she was 2.5) but I'm having a lot of fun figuring it out as we go!!!

I had some basic classes for 6 months to get me hooked, and then they fell out so I spent a year trying to teach myself but not really getting anywhere. I've just joined another club and started over again with a new trainer and LOVING it! It's bought back the 'bug' and I'm itching to do more and get back into another competition to see how we're going now!!! lol.

I made a wee video of our training the other weekend, we're still VERY basic at the moment so be nice, I know there's plenty of mistakes! We're both muddling through much better with a good trainer now though!

I'm *hoping* to be able to get to the NZ national dog show this year to compete in obedience... could be fun! Or scary.... though I'm sure Paris will make me laugh regardless, the goof!

[huski]

Thanks Nic and Kath for the what-to-do-slash-bring-to-a-trial advice

Does anyone here find that their dogs learn and perform readily but you get very nervous when being watched and sometimes make errors with the instructions and struggle when put on the spot?

I am hoping with time that I will get more confident?

OMG YES. All the time! I find I have gotten better with time especially as my dog has gotten better and I've gotten more confidence in her.

hmm, I'm thinking I should have posted my link in this thread instead, but for some reason never spotted it before! lol!

I'm across the tasman in NZ doing both obedience and rally, with a touch of agility on the side. This is my first competition dog, and I didn't get her as a pup (though have had contact & influence in her life since she was a year old, we didn't start training till she was just over 18 months and she didn't live with me until she was 2.5) but I'm having a lot of fun figuring it out as we go!!!

I had some basic classes for 6 months to get me hooked, and then they fell out so I spent a year trying to teach myself but not really getting anywhere. I've just joined another club and started over again with a new trainer and LOVING it! It's bought back the 'bug' and I'm itching to do more and get back into another competition to see how we're going now!!! lol.

I made a wee video of our training the other weekend, we're still VERY basic at the moment so be nice, I know there's plenty of mistakes! We're both muddling through much better with a good trainer now though!

I'm *hoping* to be able to get to the NZ national dog show this year to compete in obedience... could be fun! Or scary.... though I'm sure Paris will make me laugh regardless, the goof!

Great video! I love Standards The purple colouring on her is awesome!! Glad to hear you are enjoying training It is very addictive!

Edited June 7, 2010 by huski

[RubyStar]

Thanks Nic and Kath for the what-to-do-slash-bring-to-a-trial advice

The MOST IMPORTANT THING to bring to a trial, is alcohol and nibblies!!!

[RubyStar]

I made a wee video of our training the other weekend, we're still VERY basic at the moment so be nice, I know there's plenty of mistakes! We're both muddling through much better with a good trainer now though!

Great stuff! I especially love the fronts, I have front envy Love her purple bits too (so glad they're not pink cos then that statement mightn't have been very appropriate!! )

[huski]

Thanks Nic and Kath for the what-to-do-slash-bring-to-a-trial advice

The MOST IMPORTANT THING to bring to a trial, is alcohol and nibblies!!!

OMG I almost forgot!!!

Is wine acceptable at a morning trial???

[pie]

Just hide it in a coffee cup

[huski]

Just hide it in a coffee cup

I don't know if it will make my inability to walk in a straight line better or worse I might be falling over by the time I get to stays!

[RubyStar]

That's why I prefer night time trials, you don't get weird looks when you bring out a Vodka Cruiser like you do if you do it at a morning trial for some reason

[pie]

Yeah can't think why that might be, RS :)

[huski]

Sounds pretty normal to me, some people are just really judgmental

[Seita]

Huski! Yay I'll have a drinking buddy at trials! I never bring wine cos I haven't had anyone to share it with! But now I do!!! LOL

OK GUYS! LISTEN UP!!! I need help to be either talked into or out of doing my first UD trial the weekend after next. It's a day time trial (which is when we do most of our training) at our home grounds, she tends to only botch things up at night under lights and I think it's due to not enough practice training in those sitations. Her seek back is the only hang up, if she can find the start peg she should be able to find the seekback. However she has "blonde" moments where she forgets which direction we've come from and searches the wrong way. She will eventually find her way back in the right direction and she has never once NOT found the article, it's just on occasions she's taken a painfully long time to find it. She does everything else quite well and has been doing it pretty consistently under varying distractions over the last few weeks so I'm reasonably confident that she can do it.

So what do others think? Do I enter her and see what happens or do I wait until I'm a bit more confident on the seek back? I'm probably 50-50 about it at the moment, although after this mornings seek back I'm more confident. As I'm the trial secretary I can put myself in at the very last minute so I still have a week and a bit to decide but want some opinions! I figure I'll probably stuff the first trial or even few trials cos of nerves which is why I'm soo tempted to do this one.

[RubyStar]

Go for it

[ness]

Go on Seita - Ptolomy twisted my arm into my first UD trial when Ness wasn't ready and its been far her best performance yet . I suspect Ella is far more ready then Ness ever was. If the grounds are ones she is use to then you might as well see how you get on.

[huski]

Knowing the standard Ella is at I would say go for it

Just gotta keep her and Daisy apart :D

[pie]

If you don't enter you can bet her seek back will suddenly become perfect just before the trial I say enter

Although it sounds like you and Huski may need to organise a designated driver :D

[Seita]

So far we have a unanimous vote for do it.... I'll wait another couple of days to decide. I won't be printing catalogues till next week on wednesday or thursday so I can decide then. LOL It just scares me to think about it!!

[huski]

Although it sounds like you and Huski may need to organise a designated driver

Yes Nic who shall we get to be a DD for us?? LOL Can you imagine us together with alcohol???

So far we have a unanimous vote for do it.... I'll wait another couple of days to decide. I won't be printing catalogues till next week on wednesday or thursday so I can decide then. LOL It just scares me to think about it!!

OMG I just realised Daisy and I will be in that catalogue Holy crap remind me why I'm doing this again??? :D

Edited June 7, 2010 by huski

[Ptolomy]

Huski! Yay I'll have a drinking buddy at trials! I never bring wine cos I haven't had anyone to share it with! But now I do!!! LOL

OK GUYS! LISTEN UP!!! I need help to be either talked into or out of doing my first UD trial the weekend after next. It's a day time trial (which is when we do most of our training) at our home grounds, she tends to only botch things up at night under lights and I think it's due to not enough practice training in those sitations. Her seek back is the only hang up, if she can find the start peg she should be able to find the seekback. However she has "blonde" moments where she forgets which direction we've come from and searches the wrong way. She will eventually find her way back in the right direction and she has never once NOT found the article, it's just on occasions she's taken a painfully long time to find it. She does everything else quite well and has been doing it pretty consistently under varying distractions over the last few weeks so I'm reasonably confident that she can do it.

So what do others think? Do I enter her and see what happens or do I wait until I'm a bit more confident on the seek back? I'm probably 50-50 about it at the moment, although after this mornings seek back I'm more confident. As I'm the trial secretary I can put myself in at the very last minute so I still have a week and a bit to decide but want some opinions! I figure I'll probably stuff the first trial or even few trials cos of nerves which is why I'm soo tempted to do this one.

You will learn a lot from you first trial experience. If you go in with the mindset that if things go pearshaped you can either withdraw or help her along - and you believe that you have done all the training - then I say go for it

[bedazzledx2]

I entered Brookie before he was ready.... its only a problem if you make it one! You need to have a plan of what you are going to do if it goes pear shaped. My plan for a baby UD dog would be to see how they go and be ready to help out if they struggle. It would be rare for a inexperienced UD dog to nail it first time out. You may find she copes really well with the seek back and something else will go wrong....help her out or leave the ring and be happy...this is the beginning of hopefully a long and successful career in UD

OK GUYS! LISTEN UP!!! I need help to be either talked into or out of doing my first UD trial the weekend after next. It's a day time trial (which is when we do most of our training) at our home grounds, she tends to only botch things up at night under lights and I think it's due to not enough practice training in those sitations. Her seek back is the only hang up, if she can find the start peg she should be able to find the seekback. However she has "blonde" moments where she forgets which direction we've come from and searches the wrong way. She will eventually find her way back in the right direction and she has never once NOT found the article, it's just on occasions she's taken a painfully long time to find it. She does everything else quite well and has been doing it pretty consistently under varying distractions over the last few weeks so I'm reasonably confident that she can do it.

So what do others think? Do I enter her and see what happens or do I wait until I'm a bit more confident on the seek back? I'm probably 50-50 about it at the moment, although after this mornings seek back I'm more confident. As I'm the trial secretary I can put myself in at the very last minute so I still have a week and a bit to decide but want some opinions! I figure I'll probably stuff the first trial or even few trials cos of nerves which is why I'm soo tempted to do this one.